To get serious about the energy and climate crisis in America, we need to start with where we live. Over 20 percent of US carbon emissions in 2008 came from our homes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. To bring that number down, we need real world solutions that are practical for all Americans to implement – not just families with the most resources.
The Center for Housing Policy just launched a new online toolkit that highlights residential energy efficiency solutions available for families and policymakers. The toolkit offers strategies to improve the efficiency of existing single-family and multifamily homes, with a special focus on low- and moderate-income households. Developed with support from Wells Fargo, the online resource is an expansion of HousingPolicy.org, the Center’s online guide to state and local housing policy, and lays out a comprehensive energy-efficiency program, including policies to spur investment in residential energy efficiency, low-cost financing tools to help families afford the costs of green upgrades, and more.
There’s also a new space for members of the interactive HousingPolicy.org Forum to share questions, case studies, and best practices related to residential energy efficiency. The new Forum category includes several areas where members are encouraged to share reports, case studies, and other resources prepared by other organizations. (Not yet a member of the Forum? Click here to learn more.)
To help introduce this new section, the Center for Housing Policy will host a Webinar today, July 27 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT (10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. PDT). The Webinar will provide an overview of the new toolkit, including a “tour” of key content areas, and will also feature speakers from CNT Energy, a division of Chicago’s Center for Neighborhood Technology, discussing their Energy Savers program.